Veridian was stuck up against the hot, grimy ceiling of the Engine Block, the Manifest heavy on her hip. Down below, smoke filled the air, and the place was a madhouse trying to recover from her screw-up. Guards yelled, trying to keep the panicked workers in line.
She spotted Garth by the pump, his face covered in grease, looking furious. The new bolt he'd put in gleamed, like it was mocking her. He knew what she was up to, and he was waiting for her to mess up again.
She needed to do something big. Not just a little problem, but total chaos. She looked up at the supervisor's platform where Jorn was checking out the mess. And there it was, leaning against his chair: a huge sledgehammer, probably for breaking up slag. Just what she needed to smash the Kinetic Lock.
But it was way over there. She had to turn this mess into something she could use.
I. The Breaking Point
Every step down the stairs hurt, her ribs screaming. She was running on empty, hoping Garth would do what she needed him to.
She got to the Main Water Line, the pipe she'd secretly weakened with her knife. It was super thin now, ready to burst. This pipe kept Cold Stone cool. If it broke, all hell would break loose. The Purists would freak.
She crouched down, checking things out. The hammer was upstairs. Hitting it directly would be too loud. She looked around, and then saw the pipe going right over an old, rusty drain in the floor.
This was it.
She shoved the broken part of her key into the weak spot on the pipe. Instead of pulling, she twisted it hard, until the last bit of metal snapped—
SCREEEECH—
It sounded terrible, followed by a huge crack and freezing water spraying everywhere. The pipe didn't just break; it split open.
Icy water flooded the tunnel, hitting the walls hard. It found a weak spot—that rusty drain.
Upstairs, the Engine Block machines made a dying sound as the cooling went out.
Boom. Chaos.
Soaked and shivering, Veridian scrambled back upstairs. A break in the Cold Stone line? They'd have to fix it ASAP, or the whole place would flood.
II. An Unspoken Bargain
Back in the Engine Block, the mess had turned into a real panic. Silas was there, looking angry. The Purists hated losing control.
Guards yelled, pointing at the pressure gauges which were going crazy. The Cold Line's gone! It's flooding!
Silas ordered, Jorn! The leak! Get a team down there now! Take the hammer! Garth! You know these pipes—move!
The Purists' rules were now biting them in the butt. The pipe guy had to deal with the crisis.
Jorn picked up the sledgehammer and shoved it at Garth.
Garth just stood there, holding the thing. He was wet, covered in dirt, and shaking, but he understood what was happening. The broken governor, the flood… she'd planned it all. His Captain had caused this disaster just to give him a way out.
He looked where Veridian had been, and saw her sneaking toward the stairs. He looked scared; he was being forced into a corner.
He had a choice: do what Silas said, fix the pipe, and let Elara die, or trust his Captain's plan, use the hammer to break into the vault, and risk getting killed.
Garth chose. He walked into the tunnel, not eagerly, but like a guy heading to his execution.
Veridian was waiting, up against the wet wall. The water was still draining, but the tunnel was a freezing, dripping mess.
He got to the bottom, the noise from the Engine Block fading away into a quiet silence.
He didn't look at her. He just spoke. The line, he said, his voice rough. I can try to crimp it, slow the leak. But the main seal's gone. Ten minutes, maybe less, before this tunnel fills up and her cell fries.
He dropped the sledgehammer. It landed at Veridian's feet with a heavy sound.
No thanks. No apologies. Veridian just turned to the vault door.
She pointed at the Kinetic Lock, the wheel that was supposed to be impossible to move. Then she pointed at the sledgehammer.
Garth got it. The lock... it blocks magic. You have to break the core. You need force, not skill.
He pulled out wrenches and pins, laying out the plan, his words short and coded so no one could understand. I'll try to crimp the pipe. Maybe five minutes. Maybe less. You hit the center of the lock. One shot. It has to be perfect. If the anti-magic field holds... we're done.
Nothing else to say.
III. One Swing
Garth turned his back, wading into the water to fix the broken pipe. Metal screeched against metal.
Veridian bent and picked up the sledgehammer. It was crazy heavy, the cold iron making her hands numb. She dragged it over to the vault door.
The Kinetic Lock looked unbreakable. The central pin was thick, made to handle twisting, not a direct hit.
One shot. That's all she had. Her body was beat up—ribs hurting, muscles weak. She had to find strength she didn't have.
She lifted the hammer. It almost pulled her over. She stared at the lock's center, picturing where she needed to hit.
This isn't a fight, she thought, a strange calm coming over her. It's just physics.
She swung. The hammer head moved because of a lifetime of anger. Anger at the guards, at the Guild, at just trying to stay alive.
KRA-KRACK!
The sound shook the tunnel. Sparks flew as iron hit enchanted steel.
The pin broke. The vault door popped open a bit.
Five minutes. The noise alone would bring every guard running, flood or no flood.
Garth jumped at the noise. It's open! Go! I can't hold this much longer!
Veridian dropped the hammer with a splash. She spun the heavy wheel of the hatch, until it opened, showing a dark ramp going down.
The Cold Stone.
She didn't look back. She jumped into the dark.
IV. The Cost
The Cold Stone was totally silent. The cold was so bad it felt like the air was breaking apart. She could see walls covered in dull, gray stuff.
And in the middle of the room, a slab of the same stone. Elara was on it.
Veridian couldn't breathe. It was worse than she thought.
Elara was still. Her skin was pale, her veins standing out in black. The wires connected to her head looked dead.
She wasn't breathing. Her pulse was faint. The anti-magic wasn't just holding her—it was killing her.
Veridian felt cold, sharp panic. She hadn't bought time. She had only arrived in time to see her die.
She stumbled to the slab, forgetting the cold. She pressed the Manifest against Elara's chest. It was dumb. It did nothing.
Elara! she whispered, her voice breaking. Please. Wake up.
Nothing. Just silence.
Shouting echoed down the tunnel, getting closer. The guards were coming.
Less than a minute. She had the way to save Elara, but it was useless, and the guards were getting closer. It had all come down to this: begging Elara to come back.